Person in black tank top holding a baseball bat with 'DIE CIS SCUM' written on their arm

Die Cis Scum

2011catchphrasesemi-active

Published October 19, 2026

'Die Cis Scum' started as a lip tattoo. On November 21st, 2011, Tumblr user Char the Butcher posted a photograph of the fresh ink, dedicating it to the Transgender Day of Remembrance observed the day prior1. Within a year the three-word slogan spawned a single-topic Tumblr called Dear Cis People and parody subreddit /r/CisScum.

lgbtq memes gender discourse memes tumblr memes social justice memes protest memes

Overview

Char framed the words as a reaction to the daily threat of transphobic violence, not a literal call for cis deaths, and as reclamation of the discomfort cis people felt at being named at all1. Posts tagged 'die cis scum' on Tumblr split into two registers: earnest trans anger and ironic reuse on cakes and captioned selfies5.

Critics came at the slogan from several angles. Writers at RANCOM! called it psychotic, not anarchist6. Blogger Witch.Words argued in April 2012 that 'die cis scum' did not mirror a hypothetical 'die trans scum' because trans people had actually died for their gender variance4. From inside the trans community, Tumblr user saminal asked peers to not let the three words become a meme at all9.

Origin & Background

Platform
Tumblr
Creator
Char the Butcher
Date
2011

Char the Butcher posted the originating photograph to Tumblr on November 21st, 2011, showing a 'DIE CIS SCUM' tattoo inside of their lip done the day before, on the Transgender Day of Remembrance1. Char wrote that the ink expressed fear of walking around as a trans person and the violence endured by the community. Asher Bauer, who gave Char the tattoo with a sewing needle and ink, reposted the piece as a guest essay on the blog Tranarchism that same day2.

How It Spread

Debate over the tattoo flooded Wordpress blogs and Tumblr through December 2011, with critics calling it reverse bigotry8 or a glorification of violence5. In February 2012, Char answered an anonymous reader who asked whether the slogan came from a place of white privilege, agreeing a trans person of color might not safely speak it in public3.

A single-topic Tumblr called Dear Cis People launched on March 3rd, 2012, as an anonymous grievance board for trans users, and had passed 650 posts by May 20133. On March 7th, 2012, YouTuber BlackLipstckBuxomBoy posted a video titled 'Die Cis Scum' that attracted mocking reply videos; a mirror of the eventually-removed clip was shared on r/Cringe on February 1st, 20137. In August 2012, parody subreddit /r/CisScum launched to mock social justice posts repeating the line3.

Timeline

2011-11-21

Char the Butcher posts the tattoo photo on Tumblr; Asher Bauer reposts it as a guest essay on Tranarchism the same day.

2011-12-08

RANCOM! publishes a Wordpress post arguing the slogan is psychotic, not anarchist.

2012-02

Char posts an anonymous reader's message asking whether the slogan reflects white privilege, and agrees in a response.

2012-03-03

Dear Cis People Tumblr blog launches as an anonymous space for trans grievances.

2012-03-07

YouTuber BlackLipstckBuxomBoy uploads a video titled 'Die Cis Scum' that attracts mocking reply videos.

2012-04

Blogger Witch.Words publishes an essay arguing 'die cis scum' does not mirror a hypothetical 'die trans scum'.

2012-08

Parody subreddit /r/CisScum launches to mock social justice bloggers repeating the slogan.

2013-02-01

A mirror of the removed BlackLipstckBuxomBoy video is shared on r/Cringe.

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